When I reached for your tear-streaked cheek

[linkings]

Who: linkings and got_it_memorizd
When: September 22, late afternoon
Where: Axel's apartment
Summary: Axel's proposed a small project for Naminé in restoring his memories of Xion. First time's the charm as they say!
Warnings: None so far. I'll update as needed.

Comments

[linkings]

He was expecting something more visual? Her eyes darted to her pack, where her sketchbooks were. Normally, her drawings were the only physical proof that anything even happened. Those and DiZ's computers for Sora's case. But that was it.

She followed him to the couch after grabbing her bag, sitting on the opposite end and still holding onto her drink with both hands in her lap. "There's not much to see, to be honest. Just, ah... try to relax if you can. It'll make it easier for you too."

It really did help her nerves to have someone be a little lighthearted around her. She smiled at his comment and shook her head. "No, nothing like that. Sora's was a lot different... and a lot harder to deal with. Though, I don't know what will really happen or how you'll be afterwards or during it." She paused, looking a little concerned and her voice was stern. "Just let me know if something's... wrong for you."

sorry for the delay

[got_it_memorizd]

Relax. Right. Because all she was going to do was infiltrate his brain and see about liberating a few apparently repressed memories. Cake-walk, right? He wasn't exactly nervous--he knew she wouldn't do anything to hurt him, after all. Naminé wouldn't have hurt a fly of her own volition. But to say that he was completely unperturbed by the whole thing wouldn't have been accurate. He was certainly perturbed that the memories had been lost or stolen or whatever had happened to them in the first place, and the thought of having anybody poking around in his head was enough to make him squirm; Axel was a fiercely private person--there were plenty of things even Saïx didn't know about him, things he had never even confessed to Isa. Axel was far more guarded than Lea had ever been, but that didn't mean Lea had shared everything.Pushing those thoughts away, though, Axel sat down on the couch and braced his palms on his knees, giving Naminé a slightly awkward look. Then he shrugged and lifted his arms a bit, palms raised

[linkings]

She could tell that he wasn't fond of this idea with that expression on his face. She never was exactly the best at reassuring others, and definitely not when it came to Axel. It was awkward and made her feel more nervous than she needed to be. But she needed to do this. He asked her and she needed to fulfill his wishes

[got_it_memorizd]

"Sure, sure, go ahead," he said, waving a hand and leaning back against the couch, his fingers threaded behind his head. It wasn't too hard to pretend this didn't bother him, but he had a feeling he wasn't fooling Naminé. He'd never managed to fool her, really--she'd called him out on being lonely of all things once, and that wasn't even something that was easy to see.

There was a peculiar sensation as Naminé delved into his memories. It didn't hurt--he hadn't expected it to--it was almost electric, as if she'd buzzed her way into his mind. He hadn't really given much thought to the procedure, however, and when she started poking backwards through the more recent memories in his head he was a little startled, though he supposed he shouldn't have been. He knew she knew he had died, but suddenly catching a glimpse of that moment, where he was flat on his back and fading away with Sora hovering like some sort of worried hummingbird... it was kind of embarrassing. He was grateful when the image faded and she moved on

[linkings]

She didn't open her eyes - not that it had anything to do with her power, but it helped her feel more in tune with what she was doing. It was a bit strange to only be seeing his memories this way, and in such clarity. Memories were very important to Axel, and she knew that well, but it was just surprising how much he remembered.

"You're not... lame in them." Her breath almost hitched at the memories of his death. The fires surrounding him, and Sora and... she almost got the strange sensation that Roxas was watching from within Sora. Naminé wouldn't have been surprised if that was truly the case.

The time when she had found him on the beach brought a tiny shy smile out of her. Pride also seemed to be something that was important to Axel, or so he made it out to be that way. Not as important as some other things, but enough. He had to keep up some appearances after all.

"You can't change how your memories are, or how you look in them." A beat. "At least... not for your true memories."